North Carolina scientist awarded American Heart Association Population Research Prize

10th November 2015

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Gregory L Burke, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been awarded the American Heart Association (AHA)’s 2015 Population Research Prize.

According to a press release, the prize was in recognition for “his leadership of high-calibre epidemiology research including provocative new findings that show measures of coronary artery calcification and carotid wall thickness are valid predictors of cardiovascular disease risk and prevention in multi-ethnic populations.”

Burke was awarded the prize, including a citation and a US$5000 honorarium, during the opening ceremonies of the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions, by Mark Creager, president of the association.

“For more than 30 years, Burke has led population-based research in cardiovascular disease, and his accomplishments place him at the forefront of life-saving scientific inquiry,” Creager said in presenting the award. “Burke has been principal investigator or co-investigator of numerous significant epidemiology studies and he has established himself as a national leader in the design and direction of population-based trials of clinical and sub-clinical cardiovascular disease, especially in multi-ethnic U.S. populations.”

Burke’s most significant contributions include one of the first studies to describe risk factors for progression of sub-clinical cardiovascular disease, in particular coronary artery calcification, Creager said. “He has been at the forefront of research showing that non-invasive measures of artery calcification and artery wall thickening can predict CVD risk at the population level and disease prevention in multi-ethnic populations. “This is among the most significant advances in cardiovascular disease epidemiology research in recent decades,” Creager said.